THIS MONTH:

Trail Guiding for the California 4-Wheel Drive Association’s second annual Death Valley Experience fundraiser event running March 30-April 2, 2022. Each day will feature a choice of runs to some famous, some infamous and some secretive points of interest within Death Valley National Park. The runs will depart from Furnace Creek and from Stovepipe Wells. Some of the points of interest we will visit during Death Valley Experience 2022 include Zabriskie Point (famous), Barker Ranch (infamous) and the Racetrack (learn the secret of the moving rocks). Other points of interest include Dante’s View, 20 Mule Team Canyon, Artists’ Drive, Chloride Cliffs, Aguereberry Point, Skidoo, Titus Canyon, and Darwin Falls. All of the trail runs are suitable for novice drivers and SUVs with high clearance and 4-wheel drive…

COMING UP SOON:

USnomads.org is very proud to be presenting a brand new kind of rally experience for 2022 — the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally a ten week event that participants can do from anywhere within the continental U.S.A. Competitors design their own routes as part of the rally, then drive it in a points-based online competition that includes optional activity tasks, quests and weekly challenges. The rally will run from 6 June – 14 August and is open to any driver within the United States who has an off-road capable vehicle — stock or modified. Registration is now open and continues until 31 March or until the event is full, whichever comes first. For more information see the Rally website or Register Now …

ABOUT SKYLINE DRIVE

The Skyline Drive runs the length of the Shenandoah National Park. The paved road is 105 miles long stretching north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is the only public road through the Park. Driving it straight through without stops takes about three hours on a clear day. As you travel along Skyline Drive you will notice mileposts on the west side of the road that help visitors navigate the Park and locate areas of interest. There are 75 overlooks along the way as well as connections to all the major visitor centers, campgrounds, lodges, picnic areas and most trailheads. The central section of the drive, between Thornton Gap and Swift Run Gap, is a land of superlatives – highest park elevation, highest point on Skyline Drive, most land mass and arguably the best views, too…

ABOUT PETIT JEAN

Petit Jean Mountain has a fascinating history, and the Legend that tells how the mountain received its name, begins in the 1700s with the story of a young French Nobleman, Chavet, who was going to explore a part of the Louisiana Territory. Chavet was engaged to be married to a beautiful young girl from Paris, Adrienne Dumont. When told of his plans, she asked that they be married right away so she could accompany him. Thinking of the hardship and danger on the journey, Chavet refused, telling her upon his return if the country was good and safe, they would be married and go to the New World. Adrienne was determined to go with him anyway and disguised herself, applying for a position as a cabin boy on Chavet’s ship. The girl was incredibly clever in her disguise, for it is said that not even Chavet recognized her. The sailors called her Petit Jean, which is French for Little John. They sailed across the ocean, ascended the Mississippi River to the Arkansas River, and arrived at the foot of this mountain. Some time later, Petit Jean became ill with with fever, convulsions, and delirium, and in the course of treatment her identity was discovered. The girl requested to be carried back to the mountaintop that she had spent her last days on, and be buried at a spot overlooking the river below. The Indians made a stretcher out of deerskins and bore her up the mountain. At sundown, she died. The low mound of earth found at the mountain overlook is said to be her grave…

Nesconset | Paris | Belgrade

MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
1-6 April – Heading Back to NY
27-31 March – Death Valley- DVE
21-26 March – LON Skills Camp
15-20 March – Death Valley
8-14 March – Nevada
1-7 March – Glamis Training
16-28 February – Roadtrip Southwest
1-15 February – Long Island
8-31 January – Long Island
1-7 January – Florida to NY
28-31 December – Okefenokee NWR
24-27 December – Ocala National Forest
19-23 December – Heading South
10-18 December – Long Island
1-9 December – Paris
16-30 November – Paris
1-15 November – Roadtrip East
25-31 October – Roadtrip East
17-24 October – LON Top Ten
7-16 October – Rebelle Rally
1-6 October – Rebelle Training
24-30 September – Rebelle Training
16-23 September – Roadtrip West
1-15 September – CT Training
August – Paris
July – LI & CT
June – LI & VA
16-31 May – Long Island
8-15 May – Return to NY
1-7 May – Southeast Utah
23-30 April – LON Bogi’s & 5+
16-22 April – LON Navigation
8-15 April – Sedona
1-7 April – Nevada
Archive

SPECIAL REPORT

GHOST TOWNS

All about exploring ghost towns and abandoned places in the USA and beyond, with tips, and information on the many different types of sites to be found across the globe, including detailed guides for eight specific sites… [read]

REFLECTIONS

EGYPT: CAIRO REFLECTIONS
A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]

SPECIAL REPORT

ALGERIA SCOUTING

A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]